The nineteen teams racing in the 2018 Sibiu Cycling Tour were presented on the Piața Mare yesterday night. Three Professional Continental Teams, fourteen Continental Teams and a two national teams make up the peloton of the race that starts tonight with a 2.2-kilometre prologue.The full start list can be found above; we present the teams in detail below.

Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec

The Italian Professional Continental Team won the race with Egan Bernal last year, and his Colombian fellow countryman Ivan Sosa is definitely a rider who could repeat the 2017 victory. Sosa just won the new Adriatica Ionica Race in Italy with a long solo attack on the famous Passo Giau, so the steep slopes of the Transfăgărășan should be to his liking.The experience of Alessandro Bisolti, 11th in the 2015 edition of the Sibiu Cycling Tour, will be of benefit on the climbs. Davide Ballerini won the combativity and the intermediate sprint classifications in this year's Giro d'Italia, so he is a good sprinter and never afraid of attacking if the opportunity arises.

CCC Sprandi Polkowice

CCC was victorious in the 2013 and 2016 edition of the Sibiu Cycling Tour. With Amaro Antunes, runner-up of last year's Volta a Portugal, they bring a strong climber who could live up to that legacy.His team mates Franczak, Gradek, Kurek, Sisr and Taciak are some of the biggest power houses you can find in a cycling field, definitely looking out to the flat days of the race – and particularly the short team time trial on Sunday morning and the prologue, where Adrian Kurek came 3rd in 2016.

Gazprom - RusVelo

The third Professional Continental Team in the race, Gazprom - RusVelo, make their début in the Sibiu Cycling Tour. With Aleksandr Vlasov, recent winner of the U23 Giro Ciclistico d'Italia, they send their biggest prospect to the race.Sergey Firsanov is no stranger to finishing high-profile races on the top step of the podium; in 2016, he won both the Giro dell'Appennino and the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali. Nikolay Trusov can count on several years of experience in the WorldTour including a sprint victory in the Volta a Catalunya.

D'Amico Utensilnord

It is the fourth participation in a row in the Sibiu Cycling Tour for D'Amico-Utensilnord, and so far they have placed a rider in the overall top-ten every time. Ettore Carlini came eighth overall in 2017 and will be the leader of the team this year, too.His team mates Andrea Garosio, Ivan Martinelli, Emanuele Onesti, Franco Orocito and Francesco Bettini – nephew of two-time World Champion Paolo Bettini – are all in their first year in professional cycling, but just recently Onesti finished third in a stage of the Oberösterreich-Rundfahrt, and Garosio has gained some experience on the big scene as a stagiaire with the WorldTour team Bahrain Merida.

Monkey Town Continental Team

The Dutch team Monkey Town comes to Sibiu for the fifth time, and with Antonio Santoro and Peter Schulting they line up talented climbers to build on the success they had in the past years, among that a fourth place overall in 2016. Apart from Schulting only Ivar Slik has been part of the team in Sibiu before, but Maarten de Jonge and Sven van Luijk have plenty of experience from racing all over the world. This can not be said about Wim Kleiman though, who just turned pro in 2018 – but it only took him two days to collect his first win for the team.

Massi - Kuwait Team

Massi - Kuwait is the first Arabian team to participate in the Sibiu Cycling Tour. Sports director Luc Schuddinck is a veteran of the race, though, and José Manuel Gutiérrez was part of the Tușnad team in 2014, so they will know what to expect.The line-up of the Kuwaiti team is all-Spanish with Gutiérrez, Rubén Caseny, Oskar Malatsetxebarria, Hilari Redondo and Jorge Ferrer.

Elkov - Author

The Czech Continental team just achieved a clean sweep in the national championships. With reigning Czech champion Josef Černý, WorldTour veteran Jan Bárta, and Jakub Otruba, they bring all three podium finishers straight to their first participation in the Sibiu Cycling Tour.Otruba is also the current U23 time trial champion, and on top of that the team is spiked with the experience of former national champion Tomáš Bucháček as well as the talent of Jan Rajchart and Matěj Zahálka. They can hope for a successful début not only on the rolling stages, but also in the team time trial.

Sangemini - MG.K Vis - Vega

Another newcomer to cycling in Sibiu is the Italian team Sangemini - MG.K Vis - Vega. They've had some strong showings this year with Michele Gazzara and Nicolà Gaffurini taking first and second place in the Tour of Albania and Paolo Totò sprinted to second in the high-profile Italian season opener Trofeo Laigueglia – all three will make their debut in the 2018 Sibiu Cycling Tour.At their side, they will have Antonio Di Sante, a two-time participant back with the GM Cycling Team, Dario Puccioni and Niccolò Salvietti.

Dukla Banská Bystrica

Like in recent years, Patrik Tybor will lead the Dukla Banská Bystrica team. With a fourth place in the 2015 prologue and his 14th place overall in mind – despite having crashed on the decisive stage – the Slovakian team can hope for more in 2018.He will be supported by Slovakian Time Trial champion Marek Čanecký, Martin Vlčák, Ján Andrej Cully, Martin Mahďar, and Juraj Bellan.

Team Novák

Under its former name of Tușnad Cycling Team, this Romanian Continental team has participated in every edition of the Sibiu Cycling Tour – and so has veteran and 2008 Paralympic silver medalist Carol Eduard Novák. He is racing again this year, making him the only rider to participate in all eight editions. For his home race, Novák will be joined by his young countrymen Péter László and Lóránt Balazsi, Ukrainians Andrii Brataschuk and Oleksandr Prevar, and Moldavian Nicolae Tanovitchii.In this year's Tour of Bihor, Tanovitchii raised eyebrows by finishing second on the mountaintop finish at Stana de Vale, beaten only by Ivan Sosa, so he can be expected to be a good challenger on the climbs.

Bike Aid

Bike Aid is a Continental Team registered in Germany and racing all over the world with the aim to support promising cyclists from Africa, coming to Romania for the fourth year in a row.Geoffrey Kiprotich Langat from Kenya and Charles Kagimu from Uganda represent the African part of the team that also lines up the two Germans Daniel Bichlmann and Nikodemus Holler, who has already achieved several top-ten placings in Sibiu over the past years, and the Dutch climber Adne van Engelen.

MSTina - Focus

The new Romanian Continental team MSTina - Focus comes to Sibiu with a mixture of Romanian and Italian riders. Representing the home country are Raul Sînza, Emil Dima, and Vlad Dobre, reigning U23 national champion. For the latter two, it is already the third time they participate in the Sibiu Cycling Tour, despite their young age of 21 and 22.Andrea Ruscetta has also been in the race before, while it is the first participation for the two quick men of the team, Nicola Marini and Riccardo Stacchiotti. The Italian Stacchiotti is no stranger to racing in Romania though, having just won a stage in the Tour of Bihor, and Marini has been one of the most successful sprinters in the Asia Tour over the past years.

Team Illuminate

For the American Continental team it will be the second start in the Sibiu Cycling Tour. In 2017 they won a stage with former Colombian champion Edwin Avila, taking the yellow leader's jersey for one day. And with Chris Horner, the 2013 winner of the Vuelta a España, just returning from a two-year hiatus from professional cycling, they even have a bigger name in their line-up this time.At his side, the 46-year-old US veteran will have Cameron Piper, former WorldTour rider Simon Pellaud, the two Colombians Félix Barón and Camilo Castiblanco and the sprinter Martin Laas from Estonia who is someone to watch out for on the final day of the race.

Delta Cycling Rotterdam

For the Delta Cycling Rotterdam team it will be the first participation in the Sibiu Cycling Tour, but having just won stages and the overall in the prestigious Irish Rás Tailteann with Luuc Bugter and Jason van Dalen, the all-Dutch Continental outfit can hope for a good race.For all riders apart from Bugter and Adriaan Janssen, it will be the first race on this level though, so gaining experience is probably the main target for them and their young team mates Marijn van der Berg, Sjoerd Bax and Jens van den Dool.

Akros - Renfer SA

Last year, the Swiss Continental team celebrated a double podium finish with Colin Stüssi and Valentin Baillafard, but since then the focus has been shifted to developing young riders, and all the riders on the start list are 22 years or younger.Just a week ago Stefan Bisseger won the U23 national time trial championships, and Robin Froidevaux came second in the road race, so both will want to make use of their good shape in Sibiu. Their team mates are Joël Suter, 2017 Swiss U23 hill climb champion, Justin Paroz, Lois Dufaux and Yannis Voisard.

Amore & Vita - Prodir

Founded in 1990, Amore & Vita has a rich history in cycling, and with last year's runner-up Colin Stüssi in their ranks, they can hope for a successful début in Sibiu.The young Swiss can count on the support of the three Italians Mirko Trosino, Pierpaolo Ficara and Davide Gabburo.

Wibatech Merx 7r

The all-Polish Wibatech Merx 7r team débuts in the Sibiu Cycling Tour with a mixture of young and experienced riders.Adrian Honkisz can look back on a long history on pro continental level with the CCC team, including winning the team time trial if the 2014 edition of the Sibiu Cycling Tour, and Bartosz Warchoł has also raced in Sibiu before. For the other riders, it will be their first time in Romania.

National Team Romania

The Romanian national team is a regular participant in the Sibiu Cycling Tour, and this year they line up a particular high-profile team to participate in the race, including last year's stage winner and reigning national champion Eduard Grosu, runner-up Daniel Crista and Marius Petrache, who was holding the title in the two years before.Grosu can be expected to be among the best in the sprint on the final day, and both he and Crista will also have an eye on the opening prologue. Valentin Pleșea, Dan-Mihai Băbăiță and Roland Horváth are the three other riders of the team.

National Team Moldova

The Moldovan national team is headed by Maxim Rusnac who finished tenth last year's edition. On his aim to reach another good result in the race the reigning national champion and winner of the mountain jersey in the Tour of Szeklerland will be supported by his talented young brother Veaceslav as well as Andrei Vrabii and Andrei Ruscov.

The parcours

The race starts tonight with an evening prologue in the Historic City Centre of Sibiu. 2.2 kilometres with seventeen turns and varying road surfaces will test the riders. Stage 1 on Friday, 6 July, covers 91.2 km from Sibiu to Bâlea Lac. Only the strongest climbers can hope to win at the top of the long climb up the Transfăgărășan Road (23.6 km). Saturday, 7 July, sees a 185.4-km stage from Sibiu to Păltiniș, finishing at the top of the climb to Sibiu's ski resort. On Sunday, 8 July, there will be a team time trial (9.6 km) in the morning and a 152.8-km road stage to finish the race.You can find a detailed presentation of the parcours above. All stages will be livestreamed on the race website and Facebook page as well as on gsp.ro and livestream.com.